It’s the season and wedding fever is spreading (even one of us at Autonomie is planning a wedding soon)! Lately as everything is going green, weddings are too! There are a number of great websites and companies that help out with keeping the most special day of your life friendly to the earth. So we have compiled a few sites and companies that will help you on your day, as well as some quick helpful tips to keeping your wedding day on the green side.

With all the companies and advice, plus the stress of planning a wedding, these sites can become overwhelming. So we here at AP have compiled a short list of 5 Quick Tips to Help Green Your Wedding:

Cut Down Travel: Try to keep the guest list down to people who are local and can attend without burning too much fuel. If some of your most important guests are out of towners consider having a few small parties in a couple locations so that only the two of you are traveling around. Or try offsetting your guests carbon emissions! If you really want to cut down on travel, elope! You can have a romantic and private ceremony with just the two of you, but make sure its alright with your family first, as you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

Re-Use Apparel: Thousands of wedding gowns are purchased each year, only to be worn once and discarded. Vintage or previously worn gowns not only save you money, but are using less resources. You can find great vintage gowns at thrift or vintage stores or even online. Also, another great resource is your relative’s closets. Most of your female relatives hang on to their gown and you can borrow it, saving a ton of costs and helping the earth (plus you can knock that “something borrowed” off your list). The same goes for bridesmaids dresses. This is of course, much easier if you don’t want them to be exact matches. Finally, the groom’s attire, is pretty easy to be green. Most groom’s rent their tuxes and don’t have the same impact their counterparts do. Or you can always go the vintage route there as well!!

Stay Local: When choosing caterers, wine, and beer companies try to stay local. This will also help out with cutting expenses as well as fuel usage. Also, its always great to support local restaurants, wineries, and breweries! You can also try to only work with Green Restaurants, check out the Green Restaurant Association for suggestions on where to find a local restaurant.

DIY It Up: Another great cost and pollution cutting tip is to Do It Yourself whenever possible! There are a number of wedding details which can be done by yourself and/or family members. Check out some of the DIY sites that might come in handy for great ideas: The Do It Yourself Wedding Guide and the DIY Network. Also, doing it yourself will put a special charm and touch to your event that no company could ever do!

Eco-Honeymoon: Eco travel and tourism is a booming business, so why not end your event with the perfect green retreat! You can always stay locally to cut down travel or you can book with a number of different eco tours, hotels, or bed and breakfasts. See our Eco-tourism post for more ideas!

Planning a wedding is a very exciting time (we should know!), but don’t forget about Mother Earth when you are putting it all together. There are so many ways to cut down the impact on the environment when celebrating, that even the smallest effort makes a difference! Feel free to leave any advice or tips if you’ve hosted or are in the process of planning a Green Wedding! Congratulations!!